From Marx Weber: essays in sociology, politics as a vocation' (396-450).
(Originally a speech at Munich University, 1918, originally published in 1919.).
The article I have chosen to review is one of the public lectures Weber gave in 1918, just after Germany had been defeated in World War 1. The lecture is both interesting but also frustrating, it is challenging because of the range of ideas used and at times, I often found the reading of the lecture hard not to put down, Max Weber did not make it easy for his readers. However all that a side after a few more reads I eventually grasped his ideas, which could be open to great interpretations. Many would argue that Weber's political insights during his lifetime is an outdated text as he relied perhaps too much on Roberts Michel's study of the German social democrats. I guess it's my turn to decide if this is the case, is there still any relevance of his work to today's contemporary society through this review. .
Politics as a Vocation' is a pretty wide ranging essay -.
He provides the reader with the working mechanisms of politics; he talks about political journalism and different kinds of party organizations, beginning with the feudal parties of the Middle Ages to the Guelphs and Ghibbilines, ranging through the development of the English and American party systems, to Germany. Then he comes to the questions of what inner enjoyments can this career (of a professional politician) offer, and what personal conditions are presupposed for one who enters this avenue? .
I was actually surprised with his depth of knowledge of politics; it was just not confined to Western Europe but also beyond the usual boundaries of most sociologist thought. In turn providing great analogies from across the globe, this then led to rich cultural thought and interpretations of political thought and comparisons. .
His work is quite compelling, in fact some nuggets of his work still has relevance to, today.